In keeping with their frugal ways, First Selectman Leo Paul Jr. and the Board of Selectmen are proposing another lean budget in their ongoing effort to ease the burden on taxpayers.

The board's spending plan of $6,973,140 for 2010-11 shows an increase of just 1.83 percent in routine operating costs. Paul presented the proposal to the Board of Finance on Monday and will be back before the board for another presentation on March 29.

The proposed budget's overall increase over the current budget of $6,591,844 is $381,296, or 5.8 percent. The biggest chunk of the increase is $260,443 in road maintenance costs being moved from the capital improvements budget.

Selectmen have decided to absorb road maintenance costs as a way to save the town money. The town has been bonding the costs through the capital improvements budget, which Paul said doesn't make sense because road maintenance is an annual project and unlike the fire trucks, dump trucks, equipment and infrastructure improvements funded through capital.

The biggest portion of the selectmen's budget is public works spending. With the added road maintenance costs, the public works budget stands at $2,404,145.

The selectmen's current budget represents a zero percent increase over the 2008-09 budget, a reflection of the frugal approach Paul and selectmen have been taking.

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